Solum on “good enough” cleverness in the interdisciplinary legal academy

The age of interdisciplinarity is upon us, and the full implications of that fact have only recently begun to “sink in.” The legal academy includes the smart and the quick, generalists who can take in a distinction, theory, or concept, and put it to brilliant use. And most of the time, that is good enough. If a subtlety is missed or an intricate distinction elided, the money point remains. But the standard for “good enough” is independent of the sociology and psychology of the legal academy. Even the sharp and the quick can miss something fundamental. Sometimes if a subtlety is missed or an intricate distinction is elided, the money point simply disappears. The currency of legal theory is truth. Cleverness lacks cash value.